Signboard



Oct. 414, 1941. M E. 5HQLK|N ETAL 2,259,272

SIGNBOARD Filed Feb. 1o, 1940 TW@ F1355, l WMS: a

JMZ/ZZZZM@ rnumbers which constitute the sign itself.

Patented Oct. 14, 1941 UNITED stares 'Pf-rfs-'NT Y oFFIcE' Murray E.shoikin, Newtonviue, Mass., and sam- Y nel L. Glckman, New York, N. Y.

Application Februaryl 10, 1940, Serial No. 318,286

e 2 Claims.A (Cl. 4in-.125)

This invention relates to a sign-board'of the type having .removablecharacters such as the letters of the alphabet and numerals by which thewording of a sign canbe changed at will.

It is an object of the invention to provide a sign-board which isadapted to catch the eye and direct the attention of observers to thesign itself. It is another object of the invention to provide asign-board which has an ornamental appearance adapted to attractfavorable attention. It is another object of the invention to provide asign-board which can readily be assembled, which can be easily changedboth as to the subject matter of .the sign `and also as to theornamental appearance, and which is economical to manufacture.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be hadto the following description thereof and to the drawing of Which Fig. 1is a perspective View of a sign-board embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the board itself together With a bindingmember for its side and bottom edges.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a mask adapted to be mounted against theface of the sign-board.

Fig. 4 is a removable binding member attachable to the top edge of theboard shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a mask similar to that shown in Fig. 3but having an ornamental aperture of different conguration.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the uppermargin of the sign-board.

As shown in Fig. 1, the sign-board may include an outer rectangularframe il) having an opening covered by a sheet of glass I2 mounted onthe frame in any desired manner. Behind the glass and Within the frame IIl is a board I4. This board may be of any suitable structure and ispreferably provided on its obverse face with recesses distributed overthis face and adapted to receive and hold characters such as letters andAs indicated in Fig. 6, such recesses may be in the form of a series oftransverse parallel slits I6, which makes possible the creation orformation of signs at various areas on the board. To provide a moreeffective resilient frictional grip on the characters which are mountedon the board, a sheet of flexible fabric I8 may be mounted on theobverse face of the board, portions of the fabric being tucked into theslits It as indicated.

According to the invention, a set of' masks is civ trated in Figs. 3 and5. The mask 20`isprovidejd with an ornamental aperture 24 of arbitrarylcon# tour and may also have additional apertures 26 and 28. The mask 22has an ornamental aperture 30 differing in contour from the aperture 24.It is evident that other masks may be proL vided having a variety ofornamental apertures, each mask having a single aperture or a pluralityof apertures as desired. Each aperture thus directs or focuses attentionto such limited area of the obverse face of the board I4 as has receivedand holds the characters in the desired sign-conveying relationship. Themasks are adapted to t against the obverse face of the board I4 and tobe coextensive with this face. The masks are intended for use one at atime and may be selected at random or certain sizes and shapes ofapertures may be employed for particular purposes, since it is possible,by virtue of the changeable locations or areas for the signs, to placeor form them on the board so that they show through the apertures, asillustrated in Fig. 1.

In order to hold a mask against the face of the board I4, a bindingmember 3E is employed. This binding member covers the side and bottomedges of 'the board I4 and is provided with an nturned flange 38 spacedfrom the face of the board I4 so as to overlap the margins of a maskalong the side and bottom edges thereof. The binding member 36 ispreferably secured to the board I4 so that a mask can be slid into andout of position from the top of the board behind the flanges 38 alongthe side edges of the board. In order to lock the mask in place and toprovide a finished appearance for the board if it is to be displayedapart from the frame Ill, a top binding member 4l! may be providedhaving a flange 42 adapted to overlap the upper margin of a mask whichis in place against the face of the board I4. Suitable means may beprovided for securing the top binding member 40 in position. For eX-ample, a screw 44 may project through a hole 46 in the top of thebinding member for threaded engagement in an internally threaded socketelement 46 which, as shown in Fig. 6, is preferably sunk flush in thetcp edge of the board I4. If the board is to be used in the frame I0,the top binding member 4G need not be employed as the upper member ofthe frame II] will lock lthe mask in position.

The frame I0 is a holder for the sign-board and may be suspended on awall by any customary means or may be adapted to stand on the floor,

provided, two such masks 2U and 22 being il1us' 55 being supported in anupright position by suit- It is evident that various modifications andchanges may be made in the specic embodiments Y Y of the inventionherein shown and described without departing from the spirit or scopethereof as set forth in the following claims.

We claim: Y '1. A sign-board assembly comprising a board having one facethereof adapted to receive and hold characters for signs, a mask againstsaid face having an ornamental aperture therethrough exposing suchlimited portion of said face as has received and holds such charactersin sign-conveying relationship, a binding vmember secured to said boardand covering the side and bottom edges thereof, said binding memberhaving a ange overlapping adjacent margins of said mask, a top bindingmember covering the top edge of the board and overlapping the top marginof the mask, and means for releasably securing said top binding memberin place, said securing means consisting of an internally threadedsocket ele'- ment sunk into the top edge of the board and a screwextending through said top binding member and threaded into said socketelement.

2. A sign-board assembly comprising a board having one face thereofadapted to receive and hold characters for signs, a mask on said facehaving an ornamental aperture therethrough eX- posing such limitedportion of said face as has received said characters in sign-conveyingrelationship, means on said board overlapping marginal portions of saidmask to hold the mask releasably in place, and a holder for said board.said holder including a frame defining an opening tted by said board, asheet of glass secured to/said frame over said opening, and means forretaining. said board Within said opening behind said glass.

MURRAY E. .SHOLKIN.

SAMUEL L. GLICKMAN.

